Video of Match Highlights : IND won by 73 Runs : 3rd T20I Match, Kolkata

India vs New Zealand, 3rd T20I (N), Kolkata, Nov 21 2021, New Zealand tour of India

Match Result: India won by 73 runs

Player of the Match: Axar Patel (3/9)

Match Report: And that’s a whitewash by India against New Zealand. 3-0. This one was a way more comprehensive victory than any of the other matches in the series. India started off well with the bat. Both the openers delivered. Eden Gardens crowd saw an exhibition of pull shots by Rohit Sharma, who loves to play here. Having scored his ODI double century against Sri Lanka here. 

The middle order struggled. That’s a concern for India. But the bowling all-rounders produced some cameos which took India beyond the 180 score. Talking about bowling, Axar Patel was the pick of the lot. Much like Santner, who was the most successful bowler for New Zealand, another left-handed spinner Axar produced a magical spell. Venky finally got to bowl and he impressed. He took his maiden international wicket in the form of Adam Milne.

As far as New Zealand’s batting is concerned, only Guptill posed a threat to the bowlers. He got a fifty in just 33 balls and seemed to take the match away from the home side. But once he was blown away by Yuzi, the match was just a formality afterwards. Harshal Patel impressed again. Ishan Kishan got a smile on the new fielding coach with two stunning run outs. 

Rohit Sharma, understandably, was adjourned the Man of the Series. That’s it from the T20I series. The Test Series begins on 25th and India will look to clinch that as well.

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Harshal Patel: “It seems so (easy). But I know it is a pendulum and it is going to turn the other way some time. You have to be ready for all of that and be switched on. My skill set is not going to change overnight, I have had success by doing the things I do well.

I tried to do the same in the IPL and executed well and got the results. Execution is a big part of the delivery, if you get it wrong more often than not it is going to sail over the rope. Sometimes your confidence is not up to the mark but you have to keep backing yourself. It (slower ball) is a weapon that I use often and one that I bank on.”

Venkatesh Iyer: That’s what I am in the team for – batting and bowling. It was good to get a bowl finally. Everyone aspires to play for the country. If the team wins and that too comprehensively, it’s a special feeling. I hope that this continues for a prolonged period of time. I have always maintained that as a professional cricketer, you got to be really flexible as to where you want to bat.

There might be occasions where even though you are going to play in the middle-order, you might get to bat within the powerplay. That’s something I have really worked on – adapting to whatever situation I am going to play. I am going to look to better that.

Michael Santner | New Zealand captain:  “Tough one to predict what the dew is going to be like. They bowled very well at the top, especially Axar. Credit to India for the way they played throughout the series. We were probably off. Came up against a very good Indian side. There were periods in every game. Pressure Rahul and Rohit put on us was tough to come back from.

He’s obviously a great player for us (Kane). With the schedule being quite tight, it gives other guys an opportunity. With the WC being in 11 months time you always look ahead. The way Guptill batted at the top, different guys chipping in at different times (positives). Challenging as a spinner with dew around. Second game was very wet. The way Ashwin and Axar adapted.”

Rohit, Player of the Series: “It’s important to start well. That’s always been my mindset. Once you’ve seen the pitch you know what you’ve got to do. It was nicely coming onto the bat with the dew coming early. We had something planned as a batting group. Wouldn’t say it worked out well. Room for improvement in the middle order. The batting front – KL missed out today but his form is critical. Middle order didn’t get much opportunity except today.

The spinners did the job for us in the entire series. The way Ashwin bowled, Axar. And how Chahal came back. Good to see Venkatesh Iyer bowling those overs with the skills he has. Important for us going forward. I would prefer that going forward .. teams around the world bat deep till No.8, No.9. Harshal, when he plays for Haryana, he opens the batting for them. And then Deepak, we’ve seen what he did in SL.

Chahal was looking forward to bat as well. I’ve grown up playing on a concrete pitch back in the day. Once I started opening a lot of things changed. Won’t say it (playing the pull) comes naturally. I’ve practised a lot playing those shots. Some days it comes off very well but I’ve got out also playing that shot. That’s why I say when you’ve got a certain strength, you’ve got to back it.”

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Video of Match Highlights : IND won by 73 Runs : 3rd T20I Match, Kolkatahttps://t.co/alGELLqYAm

— avishkar govardhane (@avishkargovardh) November 21, 2021